Canadian court finally acquits man of 1959 murder

The youngest Canadian to ever face a death sentence was acquitted of the rape and murder of a 12-year-old classmate - 48 years after he was convicted and sentenced to hang at the age of 14. Steven Truscott fell victim to a "miscarriage of justice" nearly half a century ago, Ontario's highest court said on Tuesday.

Truscott, now 62, has long insisted his innocence. "I never in my wildest dreams expected in my lifetime for this to come true," Truscott told reporters. "What we've known for years and years, now other people will know."

His death sentence was commuted three months after his conviction, and he served 10 years in prison. His case helped lead to the abolishment of Canada's death penalty in 1976. Truscott was convicted of raping and murdering Lynne Harper on September 30, 1959, some three months after her body was found in a wooded area in southwestern Ontario. Truscott said he gave Harper a ride on his bicycle and saw his schoolmate get into a passing car on a rural highway. The prosecution successfully argued in 1959 that Harper never made it to the highway because Truscott veered down a path and he raped and strangled the girl.

Last year, the Appeals Court heard new evidence that the original autopsy conclusions allowed for a time of death much later, perhaps a day later, when Truscott was in school. "The conviction, placed in the light of the fresh evidence, constitutes a miscarriage of justice and must be quashed," reads the unanimous judgment from the Ontario Court of Appeal. The judgment, which means Truscott is no longer a convicted murderer, falls short of his lawyers' request that the court not only acquit their client but find him innocent as well.

Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant said he will not appeal and has asked a judge to advise on compensation. "On behalf of the government, I am truly sorry," Bryant said. Truscott said he felt the apology was not sincere because the government knew the evidence in recent years yet fought against an appeal. After his release in 1969, Truscott lived quietly under an assumed name and raised a family.

Report here



(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today)